Disney’s 100 million dollar adaptation of American author Madeleine L’Engle's 1962 Newberry Award-winning young-adult science-fiction novel A Wrinkle in Time features a soundtrack filled with stars. There's "Magic" by Sia, "Warrior" by Chloe x Halle, "I Believe" by DJ Khaled and Demi Lovato, and "Let Me Live" by Kehlani. "Flower of the Universe" stands apart from its peers by virtue of its mystical serenity, and for being Sade's first piece of new music in seven years (since 2010's Soldier of Love).
"Flower of the Universe" strikes a clear parallel to the Grammy-nominated "Babyfather", the (possibly autobiographical) second single from that album. Both tracks are imbued with a warm, poignant, and uncloying view of parenthood, but Sade sings from a further distance this time around: 'They hear you when you cry/ This love is far and wide/ When you smile the stars align/ Flower of the universe/ And child of mine.' The track was produced by the Grammy-winning No I.D. (Ernest Dion Wilson), who deftly backs Sade Adu's smooth contralto with an acoustic guitar and cooing harmonies. The song amounts to a nurturing lullaby, seemingly projected through intergalactic space to inspire perseverance in its addressee.
A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay recently revealed to that she had been so inspired by the song that she decided to put it to even greater use (besides featuring it on the film's soundtrack): "My creative partnership with Sade on 'Flower of the Universe' was so connected that I reverse engineered the usual process and used her lyrics as actual dialogue within the film." It has been over three decades since the Nigerian British singer-songwriter took home the Grammy for Best New Artist, but her brand of quiet storm R&B can still appear to be hauntingly life-changing.
